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LAS VEGAS -- With his roster down to eight healthy scholarship players, Arizona coach Sean Miller knew one of his freshmen would have to step up during the Continental Las Vegas Invitational.On Thursday night against Santa Clara, two of them did.Lauri Markkanen had 16 points and nine rebounds, Kobi Simmons scored 14 and No. 8 Arizona advanced to the championship game with a 69-61 victory.The Wildcats (5-0) will play Butler for the title on Friday.Every game is going to be a tough game right now, Miller said. It was a great challenge. They played a 3-2 zone for 40 minutes, and for a young group like ours, we had our moments where we really did a nice job. If it wasnt for a couple of turnovers, I think we would have been even better against their zone.Arizona limited the Broncos to 36 percent shooting (9 of 25) in the second half. And yet, Santa Clara sliced its deficit to 59-58 when Jared Brownridge drained a long 3-pointer with 4:10 left -- the teams fourth straight 3 during a 12-4 run.But then Keanu Pinder converted both ends of a 1-and-1, Santa Clara turned the ball over and Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit a 3 to push Arizonas lead back to 64-58. The Wildcats closed the game on a 10-3 spurt, and the Broncos (3-3) went scoreless over the final 3 minutes.I think we just stayed confident in ourselves. We know what we need to do out there and we know what we need to get done, Simmons said. (If) we keep playing hard to the end, well get the victory. We were very composed, we got to our spots, we knew what we wanted to do and I think we did a good job.Brownridge had 25 points. Last season he scored a career-high 44 in Arizonas 75-73 overtime win against Santa Clara, hitting seven 3s and making all 15 of his free throws.Our team did a much better job this year guarding him than last year, Miller said. He made some really, really good shots. There arent many guards that play college basketball that are better ... being able to shoot the 3 than Brownridge.Henrik Jadersten and Nate Kratch each had 10 points for Santa Clara, coached by former Arizona State coach Herb Sendek.Arizona led 37-34 at halftime and scored 14 of the first 23 points in the second half behind Simmons. Every time the Broncos tried to answer, the Wildcats produced timely defensive stops and offensive production to maintain control of the tempo.We just kept fighting, rebounding the ball and being aggressive, said Markkanen, a 7-footer from Finland who is averaging 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. We were able to knock some shots down.BIG PICTUREArizona: After playing Butler, the Wildcats get some much-needed time off. Theyll have five days before their next game after playing five games in 11 days and their first six over 14 days in three cities.Santa Clara: Though the Broncos fell short, they showed they can hang with a nationally ranked power, which should help them when West Coast Conference play begins and they face the likes of No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 15 Saint Marys.TARGET PRACTICEAfter shooting 43.3 percent in the first half, the Broncos ended up at 40 percent for the game. Meanwhile, the Wildcats shot 48 percent overall while outrebounding Santa Clara 37-26.Santa Clara did an excellent job on offense, being patient and moving the ball, Miller said. Kobi played a really good game tonight for us. We challenged him a couple of games ago to give more effort defensively and nobody can question his effort tonight. He has a big upside.UP NEXTButler will pose the biggest test for Arizona since the Wildcats beat then-No. 12 Michigan State on Nov. 11 in Hawaii.Santa Clara faces Vanderbilt on Friday in Las Vegas, hoping to avoid dipping below .500. Shoes Ireland On Sale . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Fake Shoes Ireland . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Shoes Ireland From China . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. Discount Shoes Ireland .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. The Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas pay-per-view undercard will consist of three world title fights, giving the card four in all, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said.Pacquiao, boxings only eight-division world titleholder, is coming out a brief retirement to challenge Vargas for his welterweight world title in the main event on Nov. 5 (Top Rank PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, but the rest of the telecast will also include one title fight after another, Arum said.We were bound and determined to make this the best overall boxing card of the year, and four world title fights on it with fighters from all over the word does just that, Arum told ESPN.com. We think boxing is a great sport and it has global ramifications, and we will have fighters from the United States, from Mexico, from China, the Philippines and Japan. I love that. Its like Im promoting fights in the United Nations.Arum will host a news conference Tuesday in Los Angeles to formally announce the undercard.In the co-feature, junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs), 33, the most famous active Filipino fighter other than Pacquiao, will make his second defense when he takes on mandatory challenger Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs).Jessie is a great challenger, a mandatory defense and I know hes hungry because he has been calling me out on social media, said Donaire, the 2012 fighter of the year who has won world titles in four weight classes (five if interim titles are included) from flyweight to featherweight.Donaire has parted ways with his father, Nonito Donaire Sr., as his trainer for this fight and is working with Ismael Salas, a former Cuban amateur national team trainer.I am working great with my new trainer, Ismael Salas. We are learning about each other and hes instructing me about a more precise, compact way of fighting, but still [how to] be very explosive as everyone is going to see on Nov. 5, Donaire said.Said manager Cameron Dunkin: [Donaire has] fought the best and beat the best. Hes faced many tough challenges. This is a very tough challenge, but this is what Nonito does.Magdaleno, 24, of Las Vegas, will be facing his most significant opponent but says he is ready for the big time.As a kid, Ive dreamt of this moment, and the time is finally here, said Magdaleno, younger brother of former lightweight world title challenger Diego Magdaleno. Nov. 5, I will be victorious with my hands up high.Frank Espinoza, Magdalenos manager, has watched Donaire for years and respects him but believes his fighter is ready to knock off the veteran.Jessie Magdaleno is very, very motivated for his fight against Nonito Donaire, Espinoza said. Nonito has been a great champion and has fought in many big fights for a long time. But this is Jessies time. He has worked hard, and he has what it takes to win and become a world champion.Said Arum: I think its a terrific fight. The managgers are really confident, Cameron and Frank.ddddddddddddMagdaleno, when he lets his hands go, is terrific, and I love Donaire as a fighter. This is going to be a good one.Featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs), a 25-year-old, two-time Olympian from Mexico, knocked out Matias Adrian Rueda in the second round on July 23 to win a vacant belt and will make his first defense against mandatory challenger Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs), 31, of Japan. Hiroshige will be facing the first notable opponent of his 12-year career.As a world champion, you have to face tough challenges, and my first defense will be against a tough challenger, but I am ready to face him, Valdez said. I worked hard to get my belt, and I intend to keep it for a long time.Espinoza also manages Valdez and expects a similar kind of performance to the explosive one he turned in to win the belt.Oscar Valdez won his world championship with a spectacular performance in July, and on Nov. 5, I am sure he will give us another great fight and he will get the win to retain his belt.The opening bout of the pay-per-view will pit two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champion Zou Shiming (8-1, 2 KOs) against Thailands Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (39-1-2, 24 KOs) for one of the flyweight world titles vacated earlier this month by Juan Francisco Estrada, who is moving up in weight.Zou, who lost a decision to Thailands Amnat Ruenroeng in his first world title opportunity in March 2015, already owns a victory against Onesongchaigym. The 35-year-olds met in November 2014 in Macau, China, on the Pacquiao-Chris Algieri undercard, and Zou cruised to a one-sided decision, 120-103, 119-106 and 119-106. But they are the two highest-rated contenders in line for the belt Estrada vacated, so they will meet again. Onesongchaigym has won 12 fights in a row since the loss to Zou.Zou is enormously popular in China and responsible for big-time boxing in Macau. Arum said Zou brings a lot to the card in terms of sponsorships, ticket sales and Chinese television revenue.And I know (casino magnate) Steve Wynn is delighted he is on the card because there will be many high-rollers from China coming in for the fight and staying at (host casino) The Wynn because Zou is fighting for a world title. And if he wins, it means huge fights in 2017 in China and Macau.In a non-televised undercard bout, but one that the pay-per-view probably will include highlights from, lightweight Robson Conceicao, 27, of Brazil, will make his much-anticipated pro debut in a six-round bout against an opponent to be determined.Conceicao thrilled the home fans in Rio de Janeiro in August by becoming the first Brazilian boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. A few weeks later, he signed with Top Rank. ' ' '